The Law & Mental Health Conference is a program of the Mental Health Association of Portland.
Program Committee members for the 2025 Law and Mental Health Conference include ~
Alison Bort, JD, PhD is Executive Director of the Psychiatric Security Review Board.
She holds a joint-J.D.-Ph.D. with a certification in forensic clinical psychology and public interest law.
Alison has spent the past fifteen years serving justice-involved individuals and their families in a variety of settings including specialized problem-solving courts, juvenile courts, dependency courts, and community and residential mental health programs.
She previously served four years as a Program Manager at Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare for Oregon’s largest community treatment program for individuals under the PSRB’s jurisdiction. Prior to that she supervised clinical services for Clackamas County’s Mental Health and Adult Drug Courts.
Judge Juliet Britton is Presiding Judge of the Beaverton Municipal Court.
Judge Britton has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law. Prior to joining the Beaverton Municipal Court, she was the Executive Director of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Kansas.
She was Executive Director of the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board, and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program in Kansas. She was staff attorney for the Hawaii Senate Majority Office and practiced administrative, civil and criminal law as an active duty judge advocate in the US Army for over six years.
Judge Adrian Brown serves on Oregon’s 4th Judicial District Circuit Court.
She was a Judge Advocate in the US Air Force, and an Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice where she coordinated civil rights cases, including US DOJ v City of Portland. She is a member of the
Judge Brown is a graduate of Indiana University and Lewis & Clark Law School. She is a member of the Oregon Attorneys with Disabilities Association.
Beckie Child, MSW, PhD is Professor of Practice at Utica University.
She is former Executive Director of Mental Health America of Oregon, and Peerlink National Technical Assistance Center.
Beckie has helped start multiple peer-run organizations including a drop-in center and a statewide advocacy organization. She is an advisor to the Mental Health Association of Portland – the fiscal agent to the conference.
She has been chair of the governor-appointed Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board and SAMHSA’s Wellness Steering Committee.
As the Legal Director of Disability Rights Oregon, Emily Cooper, JD leads a team of attorneys who work to uphold the rights of Oregonians with disabilities. She focuses on litigation to transform systems and practices so that more Oregonians have the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Previously, she served as a Senior Attorney at Disability Rights Washington. Emily was also an Adjunct Law Professor at Seattle University School of Law from 2014 to 2017, served on the ACLU of Washington’s Board of Directors from 2011 to 2017, and served as the Director of Advocacy for the Washington Attorneys with Disabilities Association from 2013 to 2016. Emily graduated from Seattle University School of Law in 2003.
Eric Martin, CADC III, PRC, CPS has been a board member or staff member of the Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO) since 1988.
Eric currently serves as a policy advisor, ethics investigation manager and legislative liaison for MHACBO. He was an adjunct faculty member with the University of Oregon for 20 years and is a faculty mentor with Portland State University.
Eric is a board member/consultant with the NW Instituto Latino de Adicciones, the Miracles Club, Voices of Problem Gambling Recovery, Oregon Recovers, and the 4th Dimension Youth Recovery Center. He is a person in long term recovery from mental illness & addiction.
Tim Murphy, MSW has over 30 years of experience treating individuals with mental illness and substance abuse issues. He has served as the Administrative Director of Psychiatric Services at Salem Hospital, and was one of the founders of Liberty House, a Child Abuse Assessment Center.
From 2005 to 2008, Tim was on the faculty of the National Technical Assistance Center, and he also served as a national educator and trainer for SAMHSA. Prior to establishing Bridgeway Recovery Services, Tim was the Chief Executive Officer of Maui Youth and Family Services on the island of Maui, HI. He is also the co-author of “Restraint and Seclusion: The Model for Eliminating their Use in Healthcare.”
Jason Renaud is a nonprofit consultant focusing on program design and leadership. He’s a well-known public speaker and writer on recovery from alcoholism and the experience of people with mental illness, and is an active advocate for people who have fallen through the public safety net. Renaud has over 38 years of open recovery.
He is the board secretary of the Mental Health Association of Portland and is the organization’s voluntary managing director. He coordinates four enduring projects for the organization; the Law & Mental Health Conference; the Public Housing Conference; the Mental Health Alliance which advises courts and government agencies on police reform in relation to mental illness and addiction; the Alternative Mobile Service Association, which connects city and county leaders creating alternatives to police.
Contact Jason at info@mentalhealthportland.org.
Learn more about the Mental Health Association of Portland